


the summer olympics of 2004

by anakatieskywalker



Series: Olympics! AU [1]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Olympics, Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, Gen, Gymnast Stephanie Brown, Gymnastics, Summer Olympics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25427851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anakatieskywalker/pseuds/anakatieskywalker
Summary: when Stephanie Brown was little, she watched the 2004 Summer Olympics with her mom.A little while later, she catches the eye of former Olympic Gymnast Bruce Wayne, who just so happens to have opened his own gym.
Relationships: Crystal Brown & Stephanie Brown, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne
Series: Olympics! AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1841788
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56





	the summer olympics of 2004

It was the summer of 2004, Steph’s mom was at work pretty much all the time, and her dad had to go away again. So, Stephanie spent most of her time in the care of a neighbor. Which was fun, don’t get her wrong. They went to the park a lot so that Steph would get to run around, but her neighbor was always kind of spacey and smelled different whenever they headed back home.

When she told her mom about the fact that her babysitter had a different smell after they went to the park, Crystal sighed, muttered something about Stephanie being too observant for her own good, and then gave her a lecture about smoking.

The one really cool thing about the summer of 2004, in Steph’s young mind, was that when her mom was home, they watched the Olympics. It was Steph’s favorite thing in the history of ever. 

Crystal taped the whole thing, and for the entire summer, they watched it over and over. They would sit on the couch and eat snacks that they couldn’t normally have when Steph’s dad was around. (When she mentioned this to her mom, she just looked kind of uncomfortable and Steph learned not to bring it up pretty quick.) 

Still, watching the Olympics made her mom happy in a way that she wasn’t normally, and Crystal would tell her all sorts of things about every competition and the rules. Her mom even told her about Bruce Wayne, who was a Gothamite that had competed in the 2000 Olympics, right after Stephanie had been born. He was back at the 2004 Olympics, this time as a commentator for his sport.

Steph’s absolute favorite part of the Games, (her mom said that it was really called the Olympic Games, but most people shortened it to just one word or the other) was the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics. She was absolutely captivated by how they flew through the air and did all these different things.

Not to mention, they did them on their own. Steph could understand the appeal, she’d hit Tommy when he was being a meanie and they were supposed to be on the same side. It’s easier to rely on yourself, her dad had told her that.

She was in the middle of regaling her babysitter with tales of Carly Patterson’s individual all-around when they informed her that she could do gymnastics too. Stephanie Brown isn’t one to easily admit it, but she lost her mind. All she could think about from that moment was the potential for her to be a gymnast.

It took her about five weeks of begging her mom to get Crystal to sign her up for the beginner’s program at the YMCA. Steph knew things were complicated, especially when it came to money (whether or not her dad was home), but all she could think about was flipping through the air like Carly Patterson. 

Stephanie took to gymnastics like a duck to water. Almost as soon as she started, she knew this was what she was meant to do. It just made sense in a way that almost nothing else did. 

Bruce Wayne, the guy that Crystal had told her about, was a guest coach for the program. His son, Dick, was there too, and he was probably the most flexible kid Steph had ever met. She made it a goal of hers to get to be as flexible as him.

At the end of the program, they had what was essentially a recital to show how they had progressed in their skills. Steph’s mom took off from work, and Stephanie did the best she possibly could to show off all she had learned. She really wanted to be able to convince Crystal to sign her up for the next gymnastics program the YMCA held. 

Once they finished up showing off how they could complete some backbends, do a basic vault, and a handstand, the instructors gave them all some plastic little medals. It was cool, but it was nowhere near as cool as the Olympic medals Steph had seen on TV. 

When she found her mom, Crystal was talking to  _ Bruce Wayne _ . Steph wondered if she realized how big of a deal that was while she ran up to greet them.

“MOM! Look, I got a medal!” 

Crystal smiled that fond little smile that only really came out when Steph did something she really liked, and dropped to her knees to hug her daughter. “I’m  _ so _ proud of you, Stephie.”

Steph grinned so hard her cheeks hurt.

Crystal stood back up, and her hand went to cradle the back of Steph’s head. “You know Mr. Wayne, don’t you Stephanie?”

The use of her full name was a cue for her to remember her manners, slightly. “Yep! How are you, Coach Bruce?”

The man grinned back at her, as Steph fiddled with her medal while it hung around her neck. “I’m very well, Miss Steph. You did very well today, I was just telling your mom that I thought you were the best gymnast in the program.”

Steph tried really hard to not act like her brain had just exploded. Coach Bruce had said she was the  _ best _ , and he was an Olympian. Oh, she was going to tell everyone about this moment for the rest of her life, she was sure.

“Coach Bruce was telling me that he would like for you to come train in gymnastics as his gym, Steph. What do you think about that?” Crystal asked her. 

And yep, there was no doubt about it now. Steph’s brain had exploded. 

“Oh my gosh, Mom, can I? Pretty please? I’ll be the bestest student, Coach Bruce. I’ll stretch all the time and listen to everything you say. And Mom, I promise I’ll do all my chores and I’ll stop getting into fights with Tommy. Please, Mom, please let me do gymnastics with Coach Bruce! I’ll train so hard and, and I’ll go to the Olympics! And win all the medals! Like Carly Patterson!” Steph’s mouth went about 100 miles per hour as she started bouncing up and down, looking between the two adults. 

Bruce looked incredibly amused, and Crystal had a look on her face like she should have known that was coming. “Can I hold you to that promise to stop fighting with Tommy?” Crystal raised an eyebrow, and Steph scrunched her nose.

“I promise to try really hard to not get into fights with Tommy?” Stephanie bartered, and Crystal let out a laugh.

“Well, I guess that’s all I can really hold you to. Okay, Mr. Wayne, I think we have a deal.”

Bruce nodded, looking satisfied, and turned to Steph. “Alright young lady, I’ll see you at the gym. Be good for your mom in the meantime, and don’t forget to stretch.”

After Bruce walked away, Steph didn’t waste any time before turning to her mom and hugging her as hard as she could. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Crystal hugged her back, “It really should be Mr. Wayne that you’re hugging. He’s the one that sought me out. He’s really impressed with you, Stephie. Just promise me that you’ll give your absolute best while you’re training with him.”

“I promise, Mom. I’m going to be the best, and win at the Olympics!”

**Author's Note:**

> so this is the start of a series that's been stuck in my brain for over a month now, because this would have been a time where we would get to watch the olympics but the whole global pandemic thing kinda messed that up.   
> if anything's not correct (and you're a gymnast that's reading this) i apologize. i did gymnastics for like a year when i was little, and most of the information i'm using is what i can glean from the internet and videos of athletes talking about their sports.
> 
> anyway, let me know what you think! there's more to this series coming very soon.


End file.
